BOULDER, Colo. — Building automation systems (BAS) increasingly form the foundation for advanced energy management products and services in the buildings sector, states Navigant Research. The automation of HVAC, lighting, fire and life safety, and security and access controls, supported by integration with building management systems (BMS), promises to improve energy efficiency and optimization, provide new levels of functionality, and enhance occupant comfort and health. According to a new report from the firm, annual revenue from commercial BAS worldwide will grow from $56.9 billion in 2013 to $100.8 billion by 2021.

“BAS continue to evolve from point solutions built from proprietary products toward open and integrated systems converged with modern information technologies,” said Eric Bloom, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “The adoption of these new embedded computing, communications, sensing, and software technologies is fundamentally changing the commercial BAS market, presenting both risks and rewards for industry stakeholders.”

Until recently, many BAS have been proprietary in nature, with single vendors providing and maintaining the systems for each customer. Given this high degree of fragmentation, the terms BAS, BMS, and energy management system lack clear industry definitions and standards, leading to some level of confusion among industry participants. Today, according to the report, many of these conditions are changing — and at a pace that is unusually fast for the buildings industry.